Archive Selected Collections

We invite you to plan a visit to the Borina Archive and Alzora Snyder & Jane Borg Research Center to discover more about the rich history of our community. Here are some of the main history topics we collect and preserve for you to explore and enjoy.

 

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1888Did you know that Watsonville was a modern bustling city in 1888? We have information on many topics including 1906 Earthquake, Apple Annual, Apple City, Early Sports, Floods, Horse Racing, Lake Watsonville, Train Depot, Port Watsonville, Parade of Doll Carriages, Pajaro Bridge, Redwood Lumbering, Vallejo Adobe and so many more!

sistersContained in our archives is information about many Pajaro Valley families dating back to the 1880s including photos, oral histories, family documents and newspaper clippings. MORE INFO.

charlie

 

Born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst (1812–1879), Charlie sailed to California following the Gold Rush in 1849, presenting herself as a male. She became a noted stagecoach driver in Pajaro Valley and was known as One Eyed Charley or Six-Horse Charley. The booklet The Coachman was a Lady is available for sale in the Archive.

The cultivation of hops for making beer was big business in the Pajaro Valley circa 1870. Other agricultural crops were fruit orchards, grains, strawberries apples, lettuce and sugar beets, other business enterprises included restaurants, hotels, mercantiles, service businesses, nurseries and farm supply stores.

fire-dept

Watsonville’s Fire Department showing Pajaro Company #1 and #2 on Main Street about 1875, the year the bell was placed in the fire station cupola.

In addition to federal (Post Offices and military), state (beaches), and county records we have city, and school records. MORE INFO.

registry

ethnicPajaro Valley has been home to Native Americans, Spanish colonists from Mexico, Californios, Yankees from the East Coast, Ex-slaves, Irish, Chinese, Danish, Portuguese, Japanese, French, Italians, Germans, Slavs, Filipinos, Mexicans, South Americans and Canadians.

mapsThe PVHA has a collection of maps of the area from early hand drawn disenos to modern satellite views.

historic-docsCity directories, like phone books, are becoming obsolete but are a wonderful historical resource. We have a selection of them from 1873-1980.